RTO pressure makes utilization data nonnegotiable

If you manage a hybrid office, the story in early 2026 is not a dramatic reversal. It is a tightening of expectations paired with a stubbornly uneven recovery in office demand. That mix raises a practical question for operations leaders: how do you plan space and desks when policy pressure goes up but vacancy stays high?

What changed

Two recent signals illustrate the tension:

• Jan 30, 2026: Business Insider reported that Stellantis will require U.S. employees to work on-site five days a week starting March 30, with directors and above moving earlier on Feb 16. The company framed the move as a push for innovation, mentorship, and alignment. This is a clear example of RTO mandates getting stricter in 2026.
• Jan 30, 2026: Axios reported that Austin downtown office vacancy hit 22.3% in Q3 2025, and noted that 20.4% of office space in the top 50 U.S. metros is empty, even after last year’s return-to-office push. That shows utilization is still uneven and market recovery is not uniform.

The result is a mixed operating reality. Some companies are tightening in-office expectations. Meanwhile, large chunks of space remain underused in many markets. For office leaders, this is not just a strategic debate. It is a day-to-day planning problem.

Why it matters for office leaders

RTO pressure without uniform demand creates three operational risks.

First, you can overbuild for the policy and underdeliver on the experience. If you lock a five-day expectation into policy but your utilization is still closer to three-day behavior, you risk empty floors, higher costs, and a fragile employee experience. It becomes harder to justify the space and harder for teams to believe the office adds value.

Second, you can underprepare for spikes. Mandates tend to create peaks. Even if average utilization is modest, Tuesdays and Wednesdays can get packed fast. Without clear booking and capacity rules, that turns into crowding, ad hoc seating, and a frustrating first impression for new hires.

Third, you can lose trust in your own data. Many workplaces still rely on outdated headcount ratios or a single occupancy snapshot. But the current market is not stable enough for that. When policy and utilization are moving in different directions, you need better ground truth to decide where to cut, where to invest, and how to communicate those decisions.

This is where workplace analytics earns its keep. You do not need a giant data program, but you do need consistent, comparable signals across weeks and teams.

What to do next

Here is a practical approach that keeps you responsive without overreacting.

1. Measure weekly utilization, not just daily peaks Track desk and space usage by day of week, and compare weekly patterns month over month. This helps you separate a short-term policy push from a real shift in behavior. A single busy day is noise. Four consistent weeks are signal.

2. Align policy, capacity, and booking rules If your organization wants four or five in-office days, that must be matched by actual capacity and clear booking windows. Confirm the minimum number of desks and collaboration spaces per team day, then set booking rules that prevent early hogging and make cancellations easy.

3. Build for the peak, optimize for the median Plan enough space to cover your highest predictable demand, but do not assume that peak is the new normal. Use flexible zones, temporary neighborhoods, and shared desks so you can scale up on team days and still keep costs sane the rest of the week.

4. Make utilization visible to managers Give team leads a simple weekly view: expected in-office days, actual attendance, desk usage rate, and meeting room pressure. This helps them adjust their team schedules without you playing traffic cop.

5. Use vacancy insights to renegotiate and reconfigure Markets with high vacancy can offer better terms. If your portfolio includes a high-vacancy metro, you may have leverage to consolidate, refresh the layout, or add amenities without a big rent increase. Treat the market data as a prompt to revisit your footprint, not just a macro headline.

None of these steps require a massive system. They require a consistent rhythm and the discipline to connect policy to actual use.

The broader point is simple: RTO pressure is real, but the recovery in office demand is uneven. That gap is exactly where operational clarity wins. If your analytics can show what is truly happening, you can plan space in a way that keeps leaders confident and teams comfortable.

If you want a lightweight way to track utilization and make booking rules stick, Deskify is built for that reality. Keep it simple, stay honest with the data, and your office will feel intentional rather than reactive.

Sources:

• https://www.businessinsider.com/stellantis-return-to-office-5-days-us-staff-rto-2026-1
• https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2026/01/30/the-pandemics-office-market-transformation